


The Magical Misadventures of Kurosawa Ruby

by YuriSenpai



Series: Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, Harry Potter AU, Hufflepuff!Chika, Hufflepuff!Kanan, Magic, Ravenclaw!Maru, Slytherin!Dia, Slytherin!Ruby, Slytherin!Yoshiko, Wizard!Aqours
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-10-02 11:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuriSenpai/pseuds/YuriSenpai
Summary: Starting her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was supposed to be a truly 'magical' experience. For most young witches and wizards it was. But after getting assaulted on the train, rejected by her housemates and finally completely ignored by her own sister, Ruby finds herself completely lost.





	1. Journey

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! This fanfic is going to be inspired by the Hogwarts AU artwork produced by @apricalico on twitter! I really admire her artwork and have been following for a few months, and I really really wanted to write this. Please give her a follow and support her content.

The muffled clicking of wheels against tracks could be heard over the dim chatter that was coming from outside the compartment. 

Sat in a small boxy compartment, was a lone girl. With trembling slim fingers she picked at the peeling paint of the windowsill and let out a gentle sigh. The compartment on the train was even smaller than the others, with only one line of seats as opposed to the usual two. It was just as well there was only one, as the knees of the small girl bumped the wall with each bounce of the carriage. Wispy red hair was scraped backwards into two pigtails with one side tumbling loose. 

The girl let out a yawn, and wiped a tear away as she did so. It was surprising that she still had tears left to cry for they had been flowing all day. Her eyes were red raw and puffy, while her cheeks flushed bright pink and were streamlined with tears.

Fiddling with the collar of her too-big cloak, Ruby took a deep breath.

So far, her day had been horrible - not how she planned to spend her first day as a student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As if waking up late wasn’t enough, it was a struggle to find platform 9 and 3/4 after her parents had dropped her off and left her by herself; her parents were very busy with work, and her older sister had already gone back a few days earlier for extra classes so she was completely alone and surrounded by strangers.

Struggling to push her heavy cart filled with trunks, Ruby had stumbled up and down the platforms not daring to ask someone, for fear of them being a muggle. Eventually, after being confronted by multiple train conductors she had burst into tears. They clearly had no idea of the magic world and Ruby couldn’t just 

Thankfully, an elderly witch pulled her to the side and explained where she needed to go. After that, following the other students through the wall was easy. 

However in the stressful process, Ruby's owl had grown restless in its cage and was trying to flap around. The shift in weight caused the small metal cage to fall over and it bounced on the concrete side. Clattering as it went, Ruby managed to catch the attention of multiple passersby, all of which just stared at her with judging glares until Ruby felt the tears prickling her eyes once again.

After shamefully returning her squawking owl to the top of her cart, this time strapping the cage down securely, Ruby avoided eye contact with everyone and just ploughed forward with her head held low. She managed to get her bags loaded on and boarded the train herself with little issue.

Tears were wiped away and Ruby made herself look presentable once again. She dried her eyes and washed her face. Putting on her best smile, she left the small restroom and found an empty compartment to sit in. 

Plopping herself down, Ruby quickly took in her surroundings: her original compartment had a large window through which the busy platform could be seen, a line of seating against the two walls opposite each other and the blind that could be pulled down on the door. Ruby purposely left it open. She hoped that other first years like herself would see her alone and come and join her. Making friends was a first priority. 

Since being raised in a very all-work-no-play home, Ruby had struggled with social interaction among people her own age for as long as she could remember. She didn’t have any friends and had been homeschooled up until her exciting invitation to Hogwarts. She had known she was a witch - it was inevitable as both parents were purebloods and her older sister was currently studying at Hogwarts - but it was just quite exciting actually getting the letter confirming her place.

Up until boarding the train, Ruby had never seen so many young people in her life. Her older sister, Dia, had friends round previously but there were only two or three that would come and the most they would do is sit and study. Well... there was one erratic friend Dia had brought back one time, that she had met at Hogwarts, but Ruby hadn’t seen her round in a while.

With what she hoped was a welcoming smile on her face, Ruby sat patiently and swung her legs as she waited for someone to enter. 

Not long after the train began to chug slowly out of the station, the door to her compartment was opened and a group of students entered. They all seemed to be smirking slightly as they came closer, green ties glinting which Ruby instantly recognised as Slytherin students. They definitely weren’t first years.

A claw of anxiety gripped Ruby's heart as they surrounded her, but using her best smile she pushed past the bad feelings and introduced herself.

“H-hi... I’m R-Ruby...” She stammered out, holding her hand out.

The hand was smacked away with a dirty look. Ruby's heart sank. Her fingers scrambled to grab her bag and she tried to shuffle back against the seat, out of the way. In the heat of the emotional moment, Ruby felt herself beginning to cry. The students looked on maliciously as she sobbed uncontrollably. One girl with dark hair stepped closed, her feet basically stood on Ruby's. Ruby yelped in pain as her toes throbbed.

“Woooby? Why awe woo cwying?” She mocked, pulling a face by sticking out her bottom lip and faking crying sounds. 

Ruby shook in her seat, which only encouraged the group more. Whilst leering and calling names at her, one of them reached forward and pulled at her pigtails. Her hairband was jerked and loosened, causing one side of her hair to droop and become lopsided.

She couldn’t take anymore. She scurried from the carriage as fast as she could, weaving in and out of her harassers.

“This is our compartment!” She heard them calling after her, “and don’t you forget it!”

After spending an hour crying in the toilets, Ruby had finally pulled herself together. She had laid low and somehow come across the empty old compartment. Unlike previously, she pulled the blind down. She didn’t need anyone else coming to bully and push her around.

It was hard to believe that a school she had so looked forward to visiting had such horrible students, it really put a huge downer on Ruby's mood. Her cold hands still hasn’t stopped shaking as the events flashed through her mind.

The new compartment wasn’t the nicest. Paint was peeling, the windows were grimy and there was a suspicious looking stain on one of the seat covers - at that point Ruby didn’t care so much. It was better than being jabbed at or sitting bouncing around on a toilet for the remainder of the journey.

With a heavy sigh she looked out the window. So far the sun was still high in the sky and green surrounded the train - still a fair bit of traveling to do.

Just as Ruby was trying to settle down to sleep, a large bang interrupted her peaceful rest. She tensed up and wisps of black smoke wiggled under the door.

Ruby was half tempted to stay where she was, but curiosity got the better and she slowly found herself approaching the door. Sliding it open a crack, she peered out. The black fog clouded the compartment, but it now appeared to be clearing as the mutter of a spell could be heard.

Students had been alerted to the unusual activity and were gathering in the small hallway, all the commotion seemed to be coming from the compartment next to Ruby's.

The door burst open and yet another cloud of the black smoke billowed from it.

Three sets of arms and legs had been scrambling to get out of the compartment, each belonging to three girls. All of them were coated in black, even their faces and hair were dyed. It appeared some kind of magical explosion had happened, leaving their whole compartment unusable.

“You! I said this was a bad idea!” One of them moaned, pulling her hair from out of her eyes, underneath it was skin was pale as it hadn’t yet been touched by the cloud of black dust. Another girl, with shorter hair, pulled herself up from the bottom of the human pile. She seemed indifferent to the stares around her and pouted.

“It wasn’t just me! Chika did it too!”

'Chika' let out a groan from the pile.

“Riko... you’re on my stomach... get off...” 

There was more shuffling and grunts as they accidentally hit each other in the process of detangling themselves

“We’re going to have points deducted and we haven’t even started the year yet!” Riko moaned at her two friends.

“Well, if we haven’t started yet then-“

“Girls! What happened?!” An older girl stepped into the thin corridor towards the trio. She had deep purple hair and magenta eyes. Chika, You and Riko went quiet and stared at the floor, rubbing their dirtied hands together.

The conversations of the observing wizards and witchesdied down as she gave a sigh and waved her wand. The black dust began to lift itself from the three girls, exposing their true features. 

Ruby observed the change. Chika has previously had unidentifiable hair for it was completely black, but now it was a bright orange and was very vibrant in comparisons to her uniform. The second girl, Riko had a deep, wine-coloured hair and as her face cleared of the dark dust, slight freckles were seen. Finally, the third girl, You, had hair that was ashy and dark even after being cleaned by the older students magic wand and had smooth tan skin. Her arms showed off quite the muscle as she brought them behind her head.

“Normally I’d leave you looking like a mess because you normally pull something stupid, but you need to make a good impression...” the dark haired girl sighed. 

“Thank you Sarah!” Chika said happily, and latched herself onto the older girl for a hug. Sarah seemed uncomfortable in the embrace and tried to pry Chika's strong arms from around her. Riko and You thanked Sarah and bowed their heads low, then removed their huggable friend from Sarah.

“Alright! Everyone disperse, there’s nothing to see here anymore...” Clapping her hands, Sarah encouraged everyone to move from the small corridor and back to their own compartments.

Sarah nodded at the three girls.

“Riko, you’ll be able to clean up in there, right?” 

Riko nodded, and began to renter the black clouded cabin. Sarah turned to Chika and You, who smiled sheepishly.

“And you two... just... don’t do any magic until we get to school. If it happens again then points will be deducted.” Sarah said.

Ruby found it was time to give them some privacy, for she noticed she was the only one who was still stood around observing the action. She slid the door shut as quietly as possible before settling back into her seat near the window. Gently, she rested her head and listened to the gentle chug of the Hogwarts express as it pulled them along.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Ruby was jerked from her sleepy state. as the carriage door banged open. She gripped her bag and the cage of her owl and prepared to leave, but was surprised to see another smaller girl bursting in. 

Her hair was dark and up on one side she had a bun - not a usual kind of hairstyle, Ruby thought - and had a long black cloak wrapped over her uniform. Her crimson eyes were directed downwards as she stared into a crystal ball in one hand and in the other she gripped a small black duffle bag. Ruby watched the girl carefully, moving back slightly. She seemed.... interesting...

Crimson eyes met Ruby’s emerald ones and for a while they just held eye contact, staring each other down, until the dark haired girl spoke.

“It is I! The dark wizard, Yohane!” With a dramatic spin which caused her cloak to flare out in the cramped space, she finished with holding her hand over her eye, two fingers out. Ruby gulped, and shuddered at the awkwardness in the room.

“I’ll just go...” Ruby said quietly. She didn’t want to get in the way. And besides-

“What? You don’t have to go anywhere?” The Yohane girl plopped herself right down next to Ruby and grinned widely, “Stay.” She said bluntly, tucking the crystal ball into her pocket.

It wasn’t as if Ruby had anywhere to go anyway. Yohane was blocking the door and the toilets didn’t seem too inviting. Yohane shut the door behind her and eagerly examined Ruby. Her messy hair, red eyes, shaking hands, she took it all in. 

Nothing was said between the two for a brief second, but the seemingly talkative Yohane was more than happy to fill the silence.

“So who are you?” Yohane quizzed, bringing her legs up to cross them on the seat of the chair. 

“I’m Ruby...” she said quietly, still trying to take in the odd girl. 

“And you’re a first year right? Like me?” 

Ruby nodded and allowed herself to relax a little by putting her owl cage back onto to chair next to her and loosening her grip on her bag. Yohane didn’t mean any harm, it would appear, despite her concerning first appearance in which she stated she wanted to be a dark wizard.

“What house do you want to be sorted into?” Yohane chatted easily, not always looking at Ruby and letting her gaze drift away. 

Ruby bit her lip. It was always a killer question that had been asked by many of her relatives. She wasn’t sure. Her family was all over the place, despite their history of being purebloods, their houses varied however her immediate family were all Syltherins. If she thought to her sister, she was a Slytherin. Still studious, smart and using her intelligence to her advantage, but a Syltherin nonetheless. If she could be with her sister... maybe, Syltherin was for her. However, Ruby struggled to believe she would fit in, especially after the students that confronted her earlier on the train. She couldn’t exactly see herself as a Griffindor either, she was much too wimpy. 

“Maybe Hufflepuff?” She said with uncertainty. Yohane nodded.

“Yeah. I think that would probably suit you.” She agreed, “ I want to be a Slytherin!” She said proudly. A thought seemed to cross Yohane’s mind briefly, and she suddenly became ashamed and lowered her voice.

“I don’t know if they’ll let me though... I’m not even a pureblood, which is what they normally look for... My father was a muggle.”

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she folded her arms behind her head. 

“Someone told me that the sorting hat takes your desire into opinion, you know? If you want it badly I’m sure the sorting hat will consider what you want...” Ruby smiled gently and placed her small hand on Yohane’s shoulder.

Yohane looked up excitedly, a huge grin across her face.

“Really?!” 

Ruby nodded again whilst Yohane basked in her newly found knowledge.

There was a small knock on the door and it opened a crack, disturbing their happy moment. A short, stout woman poked her head round the door. Her cheeks were rosy and she smiled widely at the two girls.

“Would you like anything from the trolley my dears?” 

Ruby nodded and reached into her bag, finding her purse of gold coins.

“A couple of chocolate frogs please... and uh... uhh...” Ruby scanned the trolley, “Yohane, what would you like” She said quickly, “Ill buy yours too.”

Clearly surprised, but revealed her order anyway, Yohane placed her order and Ruby handed the coins over. 

“That was nice of you... Here, have this...” The woman smiled, and after reaching into her pocket she pulled out a silver coin and handed it to Ruby with a wink, “Its a collectible, so take care of it.”

At first glance, it did just appear to be just another sliver coin. But after a slightly longer glance, it did have a pattern or something on it. Ruby was too distracted by the sweets Yohane had ordered for them both to look too closely, and instead pocketed the coin. With one last smile, the woman continued her journey down the train.

“Thanks so much, Ruby!” Yohane said, through her full mouth, “ My mother couldn’t afford to give me much... and I was trying to save it,”

Yohane smiled at her.

“No its fine...” Bringing up her family’s extensive wealth would clearly be a bad idea, so she remained quiet after that. 

The rest of the journey progressed without much trouble. Outside, the daylight was beginning to fade leaving the lights to come on inside the compartment, leaving both girls to realise the journey was nearly over. Ruby’s stomach felt heavy from the mass amount of sweets she had eaten - Yohane had ordered much more than they could’ve managed, but she still somehow continued to shove them in, which just left her feeling really sick. The rocking of the train wasn’t helping much.

Next to Ruby, Yohane was snoozing. Her body took up most of the bench, leaving Ruby cramped against the window with a chill running down her spine, but she didn’t mind. Traces of chocolate could be seen around Yohane’s mouth, and she drooled a little in her sleep while she snored lightly. Ruby giggled at the sight of her.

A sharp whistle made Ruby jump, and Yohane jerked in her sleep. Slowly, the train was coming to a half and the little lanterns of the station lit the platform. Ruby pressed her face against the window. Her breath fogged the glass but she could barely contain her excitement. She could see the castle in the distance. Her excitement only seemed to upset her stomach more, and she felt it twist in pain. Ignoring the ache, she shook Yohane awake. 

“Yohane! Look! We’re here!” 

Groggily, the girl pulled herself from her sleep as Ruby pulled her across her lap, showing quite some strength for a girl her size. Yohane squinted through the window. Her eyes soon grew wide though, when she saw what Ruby was seeing. 

“Hogwarts!” Yohane's eyes gleamed as she peered through the glass.

With a nervous swallow, Ruby pulled herself from beneath Yohane and looked at her owl nervously, it looked back unblinking. She was at (what would soon be) her second home, finally.


	2. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the tedious ride on the Hogwarts express, the students are finally upon school grounds. The sorting ceremony proceeds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Just want to say thank you so much for such positive feedback on my first chapter, it’s really pushed me to get started on this second one already! Hope you enjoy it!

While the journey across the lake had caused Ruby to feel slightly motionsick - although that could’ve just been nerves from Yohane rocking the boat in excitement - the carriage ride was pleasant. It was a little eerie, seeing carriages pulled by themselves, with nothing but darkness looming in front, but Ruby found herself quite settled.

The two first years had found themselves pushed into a carriage with some of the familiar faces from earlier. Thankfully none of the students that had harassed Ruby on the Hogwarts express were there and instead it was the three girls causing the commotion from earlier in the journey, as well as the older prefect who had settled the mess.

“Flying the broom is really fun! You’ll definitely love it!” Chika exclaimed, thrusting her arm through the air and trying to give a gesture somewhat broomstick-like, “Are you going to try out for Quidditch?” She asked the two. Well, the question was more aimed at Yohane, who was the more interactive of the two.

Yohane hesitated.

“Perhaps... it seems fun but there are other things I was thinking about first...” Yohane pondered, her face turning thoughtful. 

“You's on the quidditch team! She’s really good!” 

You blushed and tried to hide her embarrassment with a scratch to the back of her neck. 

“I’m not that good, Chika...” she muttered.

“You’re a prodigy! You got on in your first year!” 

“That much is true, You... You are really talented...” Riko admitted, smiling at You with a cheerful grin. Sarah chuckled at the teasing banter between the third years. Riko's optimism and praise only further embarrassed her more, so You desperately tried to move the conversation along.

“What about you Ruby? Are you going to try out for the team?” 

“Ah... I don’t think I’m really cut out for it...” Ruby mumbled into her hand. She was small with a tiny frame, no muscle and incredibly weak. She also had great doubts about her ability to ride a broomstick.

The second years nodded in understanding.

“Well, there are other clubs too.” Riko reassured her.

Sarah agreed.

“Definitely! There’s loads of thing you can take part in.”

Ruby perked up a little bit at the sound of that, and hoped there would be something suited to her not-very-adventurous tastes.

“Oh look! We’re nearly here!” Chika almost bounced out of her seat to the window, where she cooed and ah'd at the castle.

Ruby peered out.

It seemed so much more magnificent than before. Even in the dark, the castle was glowing with warmth and bubbly excitement. The tiny statues were no bigger than Ruby's thumb at such a distance, but even they gave off such a grand aura of ancient splendour. In awe, the tiny redhead gazed up at the tall towers. Winding high in the sky, there was no doubt that they took a while to climb with so many stairs inside.

Although she was so drawn into the large, inviting castle, one thought did break into Ruby's mind. Her sister.

Supposedly, her sister was in that very castle, and Ruby would see her soon. Once very close, the two had barely seen each other all summer and since Dia's previous year at Hogwarts their relationship had drifted a little. But Ruby was feeling optimistic about the future, and she found herself giddy with excitement at the thought of finally being able to be with Dia. 

A warm feeling spread through her chest. Dia would surely be so proud of her. 

Yohane noticed the large smile on Ruby's face and didn’t hesitate a second to tease her about it.

“That’s the happiest you’ve looked all day! What’s in your head?” She pestered, coming up close to Ruby with no mind of personal space. 

Ruby flushed with embarrassment and could barely stutter out a coherent reply. Yohane left it after that.

Not long later the carriages drew to a shift halt and Sarah encouraged the students to get off. Although being a prefect of Hufflepuff, Sarah was no less inviting to the girls of the other houses and treated them all with the same amount of friendliness and respect she would show her own house. 

Despite showing no signs of nervousness or uncertainty all day, Yohane was finally starting to crack a little. Her twiddled with her thumbs anxiously and waited until the other girls were already out before she started to exit the carriage. Sarah gave the dark haired witch a few encouraging words and a warm smile, which fuelled the fire of confidence within her. Only Ruby and Sarah left after her. Sarah also dropped a few words of encouragement in Ruby's direction, after noticing her trembling.

“Hey, just don’t worry. There are plenty of first years just like you. My own sister is here as a first year, although I’ve not seen her since first getting on the train...” Sarah rubbed Ruby's shaking shoulder reassuringly, “Just be yourself. At Hogwarts, we won’t ask for anything more.” 

Ruby nodded, holding onto each word she said.

With that, the two clambered out and found their feet plants firmly on solid ground once again. Sarah took up her prefect role once again and shouted out to the crowds of other confused first years getting out of their own carriages.

“Everyone leave your luggage! It will be sorted of by the caretaker!” She called out, her voice strong and confident. The students nodded and followed her directions. Some of the older years helped the younger ones find their footing and guided them in the correct way.

Somehow separated from Yohane and the third years, Ruby let herself be swept up in the river of students. Due to her small presence, she was mostly pushed along and battered between them. Her struggle didn’t last long, for a strong arm hauled her from the middle of the bustling students and pulled her to one side.

Dazed, Ruby could only allow herself to be directed where she was pushed. 

“First year?” A soft nasally voice broke her wandering thoughts. Violet eyes smiled into Ruby's frightened emerald ones, and Ruby found herself relaxing a little. She nodded, her mouth unable to formulate words into a sentence.

The girl who had hold of her donned an untucked shirt, accompanied with a yellow tie and a cloak with trimmings of the same colour, telling Ruby she was of the Hufflepuff house. Her hair was a deep blue and reminded Ruby of the ocean.

“Hey, you need to take a breather. No need to be so tense.” She said. Her voice was cool, relaxing and settled Ruby right down, “I’m Kanan, a prefect.” Her chest proudly flashed her prefect badge.

“If you wait with me a minute I’ll take you to where the other first years are gathered, because you just nearly got pushed in with the older years!” Kanan laughed lightly. She seemed so chilled out and relaxed, that her aura had a healing effect on Ruby's broken nerves. As her own laughter died down, Kanan studied Ruby curiously, paying close attention to her eyes.

“Have we met before?” She asked, tilting her head.

“I-I-I don't think-think so...” Ruby cringed as she stuttered, her nerves getting the best of her. She took a close look at Kanan. Nothing seemed familiar about the blue haired prefect. Kanan shook her head.

“I guess not then. Sorry... ah! You should be regrouping with the first years about now!” Kanan grabbed Ruby's arm, a little roughly for such a delicate girl, and tugged her down a corridor. A large gathering of people was near the end. Kanan whispered a few words of encouragement before pushing her towards them. Ruby turned for reassurance but the older girl was already long gone. Shakily, Ruby stepped towards the group. A teacher with dark blue haired called out to her immediately upon arrival.

“You must be Miss Kurosawa! You’re late.” 

Many pairs of eyes turned to Ruby's direction and she felt her mouth go dry. What should she say? Should she apologise? Yes an apology sounded good. She just had to-

“Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re the last, so I’m going to lead everyone through to the main hall now, where you will be sorted into your houses. Just make sure you follow my direction and stand where I tell you to stand.” The teacher seemed very strict, and it frightened Ruby a little bit. She soon managed to settle back down when Yohane managed to regroup with her.

“Where did you go?” She asked, her crimson eyes curious.

Ruby shrugged.

“A prefect had to show me where to go...”

Yohane nodded, still having unspoken questions but didn’t press the subject further. 

The group was led around a corner, before coming face to face with a pair of grand wooden doors. The teacher had one hand on the handle, but before turning it she cast her gaze over the students briefly.

“Good luck. May the sorting hat choose your houses appropriately.” She said with a somewhat half smile, and then the doors were opened.

Having been adjusted to the dimly lit hall, Ruby had to blink a few times to clear her vision. The main hall was bigger than Ruby could have ever imagined. As she was pushed into the room, she ducked a little, worried about the candles flying over her head. They obviously came nowhere near.

On each side of Ruby there were two long tables which stretched the length of the room. They were filled with students on either side, and atop of the, lay a fine selection of silver cutlery and crockery, but no food. Students of the different houses looked at the first years timidly entering the majestic hall, some even cheered. This caused Ruby to shrink back even more. Of course, Yohane tugged her onwards.

Finally they arrived at the front of the hall. There seemed to be a row of seating and tables for the teachers, who examined the first year students with interest. 

A tall blonde stepped forward. She had a witches hat resting on her head, tilted back to show off her pretty face. With her arms outstretched and a welcoming smile upon her face, she addressed the new students.

“Everybody, welcome to Hogwarts! I am your headmistress, Ayase Eli. Welcome back to our returning students, and a very warm welcome to the new first years we are taking on. The sorting ceremony will begin imminently, followed by the start of term feast and announcements!” Eli said happily, gesturing to a busty purple haired woman perched on a chair.

“Our deputy head, Tojo Nozomi will guide the ceremony with the sorting hat.” Eli stepped back and allowed Nozomi to take the stage. A small stool was placed in the centre and the sorting hat began to sing its song.

Despite trying not to be distracted, Ruby twisted her head round a little, in hopes of catching a glimpse of her sister. In the seas of faces, it seemed unlikely. She managed to catch Chika's eye, and she offered her a cheery wave. Ruby waved nervously back. Nozomi's voice broke her thoughts when she began to read the list of names out. One by one, students began to take to the stool. The sorting hat made its decisions very quickly, sometimes not even touching the students head before crying their new house out loud.

“Tsushima Yoshiko.” Nozomi called, sweeping her gaze over the remaining students. Not one of them moved. She sighed.

“Tsushima-“

“It’s Yohane!” An indignant cry broke out from the ranks of the first years, and the hall fell silent. All eyes were on Ruby's dark haired friend, stood with a wide stance and her fingers held strangely over her eye.

Nozomi chuckled.

“Alrighty, Yohane please can you come and get sorted.”

With her preferred name getting accepted and brushed over so easily, Yoshiko found herself a little self conscious as she stood to the stand. She wrung her hands out uncomfortably and then wiped her sweaty palms on her cloak. She lowered herself onto the stool slowly. The hat was placed upon her head.

Although to everyone else it was silent, the muttering of the sorting hat could be heard in Yoshiko's ears. There wasn’t much of a stall, but it was there. 

Either way, Yoshiko got what she wanted.

“Slytherin!” The hat announced.

Yoshiko jumped for joy. Fist pumping the air, she strutted her way over the the Slytherin table, where she was greeted with hearty slaps to her back. Ruby gulped anxiously. There weren’t many others left waiting to get chosen.

“Kazuno Leah!” 

A girl slightly taller than Ruby with dark twintails stepped forward. Her face was emotionless and gave nothing away. If anything, she seemed rather miserable. It was over in mere seconds for Leah, she was sorted into Ravenclaw. While she wasn’t overbearingly confident in her journey to the table, she definitely wasn’t a complete nervous wreck.

There was only one girl left standing with Ruby.

“Kunikida Hanamaru!” 

She disappeared up to the stool. Ruby felt exposed being the only one stood in front of the hall, but tried to focus instead on the girl in front of her. Hanamaru seemed rather bookish, with thick glasses perched on her nose and long wavy brown hair. Her face was resting comfortably, but there was a small ounce of unsureness that Ruby could just about pick up on.

“Ravenclaw!” 

Flashing Ruby a quick smile, she left the stool and made her way to the table.

Ruby gulped.

She was next.

“Kurosawa Ruby!”

The room went quiet. Quieter than it had been previously. Even quieter than when Yoshiko- Or was it Yohane? Had her outburst. All eyes were on Ruby. 

Taking a deep breath, ruby tried to pull her focus together. All she had to do, was put one foot in front of the other, do that a few times to take her to the stool. Then she had to sit down.

In her head it seemed so easy, but trying to action her thoughts with the gaze of the entire student body on her was nerve wracking. 

Ruby hasn’t even noticed how badly she was trembling. 

She just remained frozen on the spot, barely able to move her little finger, let alone her whole foot.

Nozomi seemed to pause and she moved from her position next to Ruby.

In a soft tone, she encouraged her.

“Don’t be nervous. The sorting hat isn’t going to hurt you, I promise.

It wasn’t the hat she was afraid of. 

It was everyone else.

Murmuring was starting among the students. It made Ruby feel even worse. She shrank down onto her knees and let out a muffled sob. Her heart thundered in her ears and jumped around in her chest.

Nozomi's tone changed from encouraging to concerned. It was really unusual that a student would get so stressed about the sorting ceremony - it was supposed to be enjoyable. She rubbed the young girl's shoulder reassuringly. Ruby flinched away from the touch. Her skin was crawling. She just wanted to escape. 

“Ruby, it’s okay. It’s just a second. You stay here and I’ll bring the sorting hat down to you.” 

The dark haired teacher from before passed the hat over to Nozomi and she placed it on Ruby's head gently. Ruby was long gone of hearing any words. Already lost in her pit on deep anxiety she buried her head into her knees and just wished for herself to disappear into the floor. It was her first evening and she had already embarrassed herself enough. 

Ruby barely realised she had been moved from her spot on the floor. She hadn’t even heard what house she was in. She managed to focus on the arms wrapped around her as she was lifted. They were strong. 

She was being taken somewhere. Even if Ruby could have pried her eyes open long enough to see the corridor, she would have had no idea where she was going. A tear leaked from Ruby's closed eyes. Once one came, they all did, and soon Ruby's cheeks were completely wet and stained with tears.

All that ran through her mind was how she’d embarrassed herself over such a trivial event. Every student at Hogwarts went through the sorting hat. It shouldn’t have been a big deal.

At some point, Ruby found herself drifting off to sleep. The gentle bump of whoever was carrying her was quite relaxing, and a pleasant distraction from Ruby's utter meltdown.

Upon her awakening, Ruby blinked a few times. The ceiling was tall and decorated grandly, but not one she recognised. Twisting her head to the left Ruby saw rows of beds which stretched the entire length of the room. The plain white sheets were tucked backwards and left the beds looking rather empty. Ruby turned onto her other side. She wasn’t surprised to see that there was more beds, but also a woman sat in the chair next to her own. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

The woman, supposedly was a witch. She had a long gown on with a white apron round the front and a little nurses hat. 

Ruby nearly lost her words again, but managed to make a sentence.

“Where... where am I?” She mumbled, sitting up in the bed. She clutched her sheets to her front.

“You’re in the infirmary, how are you feeling?” The red headed witch came close to Ruby and placed a hand to her forehead. Ruby sucked her breath in. She wasn’t sure how she was feeling. Everything was a bit confusing. The memories of her sorting hat ceremony flashed into her mind and Ruby shuddered once again.

“I don’t know...” Ruby mumbled.

The nurse eyed her.

“You don’t feel feverish, just a bit sweaty. I think you just had a panic or anxiety attack. Have you suffered with anxiety in the past?” 

The words were swirling around Ruby's brain.

“I don’t know...” 

“I see. Well, a lot of students get a bit of anxiety within their first days. It’s nothing to worry about, you all soon settle in with your new friends.” The nurse leant back and jotted a few things down in her notebook before snapping it shut, “I’m Nurse Nishikino, but a lot of students just call me Maki.” 

Ruby nodded, processing the name. Maki stood up and reached across the bedside cabinet, where she picked up an empty mug. With a quick flick of her wand, it filled with a warm substance and was passed to Ruby.

“Here.” Maki offered, “it’s hot chocolate. It’ll make you feel better.” 

Ruby gratefully accepted the cup and sipped cautiously. It was at just the perfect temperature, and tasted unlike any hot chocolate she had ever tried before. While Ruby was enjoying her drink, Maki waved her wand once again, but nothing seemed to happen. The cup was lowered from Ruby's mouth and she watched with interest.

“I’m just calling your head of house. She will be here shortly to take you to the dormitory.” 

Stiffening a little, Ruby bit her lip. She wasn’t even sure which house she was in.

Maki seemed to sense Ruby's growing unease and turned back to her.

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” She said with a somewhat forced smile.

It wasn’t long before another witch entered the infirmary. Looking young in age, Ruby easily glanced over her and didn’t even realise she was a teacher. With black hair scraped back into pigtails, she looked like another student. She was scowling and looked particularly grumpy.

“Ah, Nico.” Maki greeted the other witch. 

“Maki,” Nico nodded, somewhat standoffish, “and Ruby?” Nico turned to Ruby, who nodded.

“I’m your head of house, Professor Yazawa and you will address me as such.” 

Nico quickly checked herself, after realising Ruby had started to tremble. She hadn’t meant to have come off to aggressive - it had been a long day so she was feeling rather irritable and quick to anger.

“Are you feeling any better?”

Whether Ruby nodded because she was legitimately feeling better or because she was terrified of Nico was a mystery, but she climbed out of the bed on shaky limbs. Handing the cup back to Maki, she knelt down to put her shoes back on.

Once strapped up, Ruby turned back to her new professor.

“Alright, lets get going it’s pretty late.” Nico nodded once more to Maki, before parading Ruby out of the infirmary. 

“Lumos,” Nico muttered. Her wand glowed at the tip and lit up the dark corridors. Ruby allowed thoughts of the evening to swirl her mind, slightly bitterly. She still didn’t know what house she was in. Even though she hadn’t eaten dinner, Ruby didn’t feel very hungry. Or at least, the emptiness inside her wasn’t one that could be filled by food.

“Pro-Professor Yaza-Yazawa?” Ruby asked timidly. Nico tilted her head to acknowledge the question, “what house am I in...?”

“Ah, you don’t remember?” Nico raised her eyebrows, and her voice was slightly raised in surprise.

“You’ve been sorted into Slytherin, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> I had so much fun writing this you wouldn’t believe. I can’t wait to get further into the storyline and if anyone has any requests I would definitely be open to listen...
> 
> Thanks again, and have a nice week. I also can’t promise each chapte will be released as promptly as this one but I hope you will bear with me.


	3. First Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! It’s been ages since I have published anything on this account, so I managed to force this chapter out. I have some other near finished work that I will hopefully be able to one day push out. Enjoy! I’ve been so pleased with the feedback from this fic already thank you!

Ruby had felt her heart sink when it was revealed what house she was in. She wasn’t sure why it saddened her so much - Dia was in Slytherin after all... and the Yoshiko-Yohane girl who had seemed quite friendly on the train. Still, dread overwhelmed her poor little heart.

“Well? Aren’t you happy? Being a Slytherin is something to be proud of!” Nico prompted. Ruby remained silent. With a sigh, Nico continued, “Sure, looking at you there aren’t many indicators that you’d be a Slytherin, but you are one and you can’t change that. Just be proud. There’s a bit of Slytherin definitely inside you, that’s for sure.”

Not a word escaped Ruby's lips. 

The journey continued in silence. Both teacher and student were tired; Ruby was especially exhausted after having an anxiety attack during her sorting ceremony. The thought of her embarrassing meltdown made Ruby cringe and she tried to brush the thought off.

Said thought was soon easily ejected from her mind.

A horrible screaming - more of a screech than a scream - rose from deep within the castle. It wailed off the walls and echoed through the winding hallways. Ruby froze on the spot and her knees began to tremble as her spine shivered at the noise. If Professor Nico was scared, she didn’t show it, although she did pause before taking another step.

“Pro-Professor...” Ruby whispered, moving closer. Nico continued to walk - a little quicker than before.

“That’s just the ghosts. They think it’s funny to shriek at this hour.” Nico replied stiffly. 

Ruby was still nervous. It certainly had sounded somewhat human, so maybe it was ghosts...? But she wasn’t sure.

Before long they had made their way down multiple sets of stone stairs to a dingy looking sewer entrance in the floor, covered by a large looking manhole. Ruby shuddered and tried to persuade herself that they were in the wrong palace, but when Nico crouched down on one knee she knew they were right. 

“Serpent,” Nico hissed, sounding much like a serpent herself. She then turned to Ruby, “that’s the password, but that’s just temporary until a new one is discussed.”

Ruby nodded. Sliding to the side, the 'manhole cover' let out a slight creaking sound before coming to rest on the ground. Nico wasted no time, and hopped straight in, climbing down the ladder as fast as her small legs would carry her. She called up to Ruby.

“Hurry up. You don’t want to be waiting around by yourself!” 

That did it and Ruby was down that ladder faster than Nico would mutter “that was quick”.

The ladder led to a stone lined tunnel with a doorway on the end. The doors were large and made of dark wood, with cast iron trimmings and huge door handles. Nico took them without hesitation and flung the doors open. 

Green.

A lot of it.

That was certainly the main colour feature of the room. Couches, walls, lighting - all of it was green, accompanied with silver details. The fire blazed in the fireplace, lighting the room in the most eerie light possible, but Ruby followed Nico closely, trying not to look too closely at the spooky room decor.

“Your room is this way,” Nico headed through a door on the right which led to a winding staircase. “This is where the girls dormitories are. There is a barrier placed so the girls and boys dormitories are kept to that gender; we will know if anyone tries to get into the wrong one.” Her voice dipped darkly.

With a meek nod, Ruby once again followed along. They went down the stairs, which took them deeper into the dungeon. The only light was that from Nico's wand, which made it difficult for Ruby to see the steps, resulting in Ruby tripping on the hard stone.

It wasn’t as if the dungeon was cold or dirty, it was as warm and clean as any house Ruby had ever been in, but the stone walls weren’t particularly friendly and the green colour made Ruby shiver a little. They past a couple of doors, before Nico stopped abruptly in front of one.

“I suspect everyone else will be sleeping since it’s been a busy day. Just try to be as quiet as you can.” Nico pushed the door open with her free hand. Ruby peered in. The room was a long rectangular shape. On the far wall, there were large glass 'windows' which Ruby assumed showed the underneath of the lake. She shuddered. She couldn’t imagine many things worse than being watched by creatures of the lake whilst sleeping - a very vulnerable position. The eerie green murkiness from the lake combined with the candle made the whole room light up green. 

On the near wall, Ruby could make out a row of beds, each a grand four poster with green curtains hanging down from the canopy. Each of the four pillars on the corners of the bed had a snake carved into them. It seemed almost alive in the way it wrapped around the wooden pole as if suffocating its prey. The curtains on most of the beds were drawn, aside from one on the very end. 

After realising that Ruby wouldn’t be able to see once she had gone, Nico pointed her wand at a candle. It burst into flames, then reduced to a gently smouldering glow. 

“Make sure you extinguish it before you go to sleep.” Nico whispered, nudging Ruby into the unfamiliar room, “goodnight.” 

Nico had gone before Ruby had even had chance to utter a farewell. With a gulp, she stepped fully into the room, closing the solid door behind her. 

Creeping past all the beds with curtains drawn, she found her trunk at the foot of the empty bed. She dropped to the floor immediately and began to rifle through it. She wanted to get in bed as soon as possible, lest any creatures of the lake see her. After throwing robes, books and other necessities aside, Ruby found her pyjamas: a simple pink shirt and white bottoms. 

Not wanting to even risk being seen, she climbed up onto the bed and drew all four curtains. Once finally in the privacy of her own space and having no chance of being seen, Ruby stripped off to her underwear and hurriedly stuffed herself into her pyjamas. It was a little difficult considering her space requirements, but she managed to comfortably get into her shirt and button that up, however she discovered her bottoms were on back to front, but at that moment it didn’t bother her. Carefully, she folded her robes and after giving them a home at the bottom of her new bed, she hurriedly ripped the sheets back and slid underneath. She blew the candle out, plunging her into complete darkness.

The mattress was much harder than the one Ruby had at home and it was proving very difficult to get comfortable on. She couldn’t help but think of all the students who had laid in that bed before, all those who had also had trouble on their first day. 

Sleep was troubling for Ruby.

It never normally came to her easily while at home, but in a strange place surrounded by strange people it most certainly was incredibly difficult. For hours she tossed and turned, waking at any slight sound from within the room. 

Scratches, creaks, knocks on the glass - all the spooky sounds Ruby could think of seemed to have been put into the room and her fear only made them seem ten times louder.

Her cheeks and pillow ere damp with tears; her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead and her gulping breaths made it difficult to concentrate. It felt like everything had gone so wrong. Dia wasn’t there to greet her, she had made a complete fool out of herself in front of the whole school and she was sorted into the house she had desired the least. 

As she rubbed them viciously, her eyes burned but the tears did not stop.

However, at some point, tiredness overtook her and allowed her to rest after her busy day.

 

It was shrill laughter which woke Ruby from her light sleep. Maybe the last hour she had somehow slipped into a state which could be considering sleeping, and it had been disturbed after such a short while. Ruby did often find that sleeping in new or uncomfortable places made her sleep rather light.

She yawned slowly and lifted her hands to rub her eyes. They were puffy. Understandably, from all the tears she had cried the previous night. Ruby hoped it wasn’t too noticeable, and peered through the curtains surrounding her bed, trying to see where the laughter was coming from.

It was much lighter this time around in the dorm. Natural light filtered in through the lake windows and the lake weeds danced among the currents as magical creatures swam by, minding their own business. There was a bit of artificial light too, coming from an overhead lamp. The curtains on the other beds were open, and their occupants were out, roaming the room.

Ruby studied the girls curiously. 

It appeared that they were all in the midst of getting dressed and seemed unbothered by the possible creatures in the lake that could stare at them. One of the girls only had a pair of black underwear on, and was chasing around another girl with bright ginger hair who was holding a long cloak and dashing around the bedroom with it. Another girl had managed to get into her shirt and skirt and was lay laughing helplessly on the floor, clutching her stomach as tears rolled down her cheeks. The final girl was fully dressed, her robes pressed to perfection and there wasn’t a hair out of line. She had dark, straight hair which rested just on her shoulders and exposed her pale forehead. She had a slight smile on her lips, but seemed to be holding it together rather well.

Ruby felt another twinge of anxiety. She tried to swallow it down and push it to the back of her mind. She sank back behind the curtains of her bed. She should try to get dressed, maybe introduce herself formally... But the thoughts of the event of the previous night loomed high over Ruby, and she nibbled her bottom lip with uncertainty.

Everyone would definitely remember.

Soon, the laughter outside her bed died down, and the girls disappeared from view. 

Only once the room was quiet, did Ruby finally get out of her bed. She slipped her feet onto the cold floor and stood up slowly, taking in the room. Items belonging to the girls who had been running around previously were lay on the floor and scattered about. Ruby half expected to see her belongings on the floor too, but her trunk seemed untouched from how she left it the previous night. Shuffling round the bed, Ruby allowed her mind to drift a little. What time was breakfast? Nobody had told her, but it could be presumed that it was soon, for the other girls had disappeared out of the dorm. 

Ruby reached into her trunk and dug out a clean set of robes and a shirt. She could wear the ones she had on yesterday, but Ruby felt as if it would be more polite to have a nice fresh set on. Which also caused Ruby to realised something else: she didn’t know where to take her laundry.

Changing in front of the windows made her uncomfortable, so she shuffled back onto her bed and drew the curtains - dressing at her own pace in a private space. It didn’t take long before she had wiggled into her skirt and clean undergarments and straightened a fresh shirt. She could put the rest of her clothes on outside the bed. Ruby sat on the edge as she pulled on her knee socks and modest shoes and then her cloak. A tie, which was green and silver striped, lay atop her case, clearly been put there after she had been sorted into her house. 

Ruby couldn’t help but feel bitter when she saw the murky green colour, but reached for it anyway. She had practiced doing a tie a lot at home, so she could perfectly recreate a tie of tidy nature and with an appropriate length. Searching for a mirror, she scanned the room and eventually identified one on the wall near the door. It was full length so Ruby examined herself. Satisfied with her presentation, she tidied away her belongings back into her case, putting her dirty clothes into a laundry bag first. 

She grabbed her wand and tucked it into the pocket of her cloak, making sure it was secure.

Looking one last time, Ruby took a deep intake of breath. Nobody would remember her from last night; they should all be too excited with it being the first proper day. Somewhat comforted by her own reasoning, she finally felt ready.

Slowly, Ruby stepped out of the room. In the daylight, the dungeon seemed a lot less scary and unforgiving. The lighting was still a little green, but the natural light allowed for Ruby to see that it was clean at least, which was reassuring. Trying to remember the way she came in with Nico, Ruby wandered the stone hallways.

Although it was nicer in daylight, Ruby still felt apprehensive and she nearly jumped three feet in the air when she heard a sound behind her. She whipped her wand out. She barely knew any spells aside from the ones she had studied independently at home just before her start at Hogwarts, but having her wand out made her feel more confident in herself. 

With her heart beating like crazy, Ruby peered over her shoulder. She was surprised to see a cat. It had unusually yellow fur, almost a blonde so she turned around to get a better look. Orange stripes weaved in and out of eat other in a pattern on its back. The cat approached her with no hesitation, and meowed loudly at Ruby. It’s fur was long and fluffy with a beautiful tail.

“Hello...” Ruby put her wand away and crouched next to the cat, a small smile on her face. It certainly seemed thirsty for attention as it turned its large amber eyes onto Ruby, rubbing its head furiously against her knee. Ruby happily petted the cat, scratching behind its ears and near the base of its tail. 

After a few minutes, Ruby slowly tried to pick the cat up, and to her surprise it came happily into her arms and crawled up to her shoulder to settle around her neck. Like a fluffy scarf, it remained still. Ruby was delighted. She stood back up again, reaching a hand to stroke the curious creature.

“Let’s go, kitty” Ruby murmured and continued her pathway down to the common room, somewhat a little more confident with her new friend.

Upon reaching the common room, Ruby found that it was completely empty. It seemed everyone had already gone for breakfast. Making her way back towards the exit, Ruby sighed a little. Starting the year off by herself wasn’t the best, but she hoped things would soon change when she attended her classes.

The cat seemed a lot more intelligent than Ruby had originally thought. As she tried to find her way around the maze of a castle, the cat kept meowing at Ruby indignantly at times, almost in a threatening way - which Ruby soon picked up on was the way the odd cat told her where to go, and whenever she made a wrong turning it was calling down her ear loudly.

With the help of the blonde cat, Ruby soon found herself in a much busier area of the castle which made it infinitely easier to find the main hall. Following the train of gossiping students, Ruby continued onwards, hoping to see a familiar face.

She didn’t have to wait long before she spotted the friendly prefect from the night before, Kanan. Her hair was up in the same high ponytail, and her uniform was at the same standard as before; somewhat disheveled and messy. Ruby felt too nervous to approach her on her own, but it seemed Kanan spotted her before long and moved from her position where she was leant against the brick pillar. Something from Kanan’s stance and the look upon her face told Ruby she wasn’t just waiting for breakfast.

“Ah, Ruby... Good morning...” She seemed rather distant and flat compared to her friendly and joyful personality form the night before. Kanan’s eye lay focused on the cat around Ruby’s shoulders, which stared at Kanan in a silent challenge.

“M-morning...” Ruby said with a nervous smile, sinking her head back a little into the safety of her new scarf. Kanan reached to pat her head with a gentle smile.

“How are you feeling after last night? It looked quite rough for you...” She asked quietly, still not taking her eyes off the cat resting around Ruby’s neck.

Ruby shuddered a little and the thoughts of her breakdown last night flooded her mind. She swallowed thickly to keep her emotions at bay, hoping Kanan wouldn’t notice the tears prickling at her eyes.

“Better...” Ruby murmured. Kanan nodded in a moment of thought.

“That’s good then. But it’s no wonder I recognised you last night though, you’re a Kurosawa: Dia’s sister.” Kanan grinned a little, making proper eye contact with Ruby for the first time and not just staring out the cat on her shoulders. Flexing its claws a little, the cat shuffled around. Ruby squeaked a little. Kanan might be the pathway to talking to her sister...

“You know her?” Ruby asked excitedly, an immediate change in her previously anxious self, “I’ve not seen her since getting here, where is she?” 

Suddenly, Kanan seemed to withdraw her smile a bit her lip. Not quite making eye contact with Ruby, she pursed her lips before giving an answer.

“She’s not been feeling well recently, so she’s been resting. I’ll let her know you asked about her though... Where did you get the cat?”

Changing topic so spontaneously threw Ruby a little. Kanan didn’t seem to want to help her find her sister, or help her talk to her at all. Defensively, Ruby raised a hand to the cat, which had started to purr loudly on her shoulder. 

“It was wandering around the dormitories, do you know it?” Ruby asked.

Kanan bit her lip.

“Uh... Yeah. That’s Nya.” Kanan’s eyes narrowed, “She belongs to one of the girls in my dorm - shes been missing a few days. I’ll take her.” 

Kanan outstretched her hand for the cat, which seemed reluctant to go to her. Ruby took a small step back, putting them both just outside Kanan’s reach.

“Nya, come here.” Kanan ordered, her lips drawn into a straight line. Reluctantly, the cat stretched, gave Ruby one last friendly head-butt and made the jump from Ruby to Kanan, clawing at the older girl. The claws on the cat left threads hanging from Kanan’s robe, but she didn’t seem too bothered.

“I’ll see you later Ruby, enjoy breakfast.” 

With that, Kanan was gone. She marched down the hall at a brisk pace and her ponytail waved in the wind behind her.

Alone once again, Ruby peered nervously into the great hall. It was packed with students and teachers alike; bustling with energy and excitement. Feeling a familiar twinge in her chest, Ruby withdrew back around the corner and took a sharp breath. She couldn’t lose it now. She would never be able to live it down if she had two anxiety attacks in the space of a day. 

Taking a deep breath, Ruby closed her eyes and thrust herself into the room. She tried to let her feet do the work, admittedly it was quite difficult trying to pretend she knew what she was doing, but before long a familiar face came into sight.

Yoshiko-Yohane was sat down at the Slytherin table, eating her breakfast with gusto with one hand and in the other she held a piece of parchment. The seats around her were free, so Ruby could justify going and sitting near her. Ruby approached her cautiously, not wanting to disturb the odd girl.

Yoshiko soon noticed her and her face broke into a smile.  
“Ruby! Come and sit down!” She patted the seat next to her with a cheesy grin, showing a little fang in the corner of her mouth. 

Slightly hesitant, Ruby took the seat next to her and a plate appeared in front of her, upon it a parchment was sat.

Ruby stared at it with wide eyes, unsure if she should open it or not.

“It’s just your timetable! Open it, let’s see if we have any classes together!” 

With fumbling fingers, Ruby carefully tore open the envelope and pulled the content out. On a yellowed piece of parchment a grid had been drawn out, and in each box there was a class name and room number.  
“Ah, Yoshiko are you -“

“It’s Yohane!”

Ruby furrowed her brow in slight confusion, but continued.

“Uh, Yohane... Where are you first?” 

The dark haired girl took a quick glance at her own parchment. 

“Mmm... I’m in potions, you?”

Ruby's heart dropped in relief.

“I am too!” There was mild excitement in her voice, but mostly relief as it meant that she wouldn’t be completely alone.

The rest of breakfast ensued with no complications, nobody said anything at all to Ruby about her meltdown the night before, which was a complete relief. Ruby tried to ignore some of the funny looks she was given though.

With a stretch, Yoshiko let out a cute yawn before turning to Ruby.

“Let’s go, shall we?”

Ruby nodded.

Her first year at Hogwarts had truly began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for slow updates, this work isn’t my main priority although it’s definitley moving up my list because so many people seem to be enjoying it! Thanks so much for all the feedback (once again) and do remember to check out @apricalico on twitter! Her artwork and AU has inspired this fic and I saw that someone had linked her this work sheialksmdhushabwklsd I was so happy!! Thank you

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this! I will be working on it and releasing chapters, but probably quite slowly because of all my other works that I am releasing at the moment (I’ve released like three things in 5 days whatttttt) but in all seriousness I’ve had this written for months and just not posted it.


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